The phrase goes “defense wins championships” and the Clear Fork Colts showed why they have a shot at a playoff birth. Head coach Dave Carroll had this to say about the possibility of his team making the playoffs, “There is a shot. We need a little help and we will look at the scores in the morning and have our guys crunch some numbers. We just need to focus on West Holmes next week and whatever happens, happens.”
The Orville Red Riders jumped out to an early seven-point lead on a 14 yard pass play from sophomore quarterback Luke Smith to senior wide out Chandler Smith, but that was all the Clear Fork Colt defense would allow.
It also helped that the Colts had junior do-it-all quarterback Kadin Chrastina on their side.
Chrastina would account for 29 of Clear Forks 35 points on the night. He scored in every way possible from a 25 yard passing touchdown, two rushing touchdowns of two and one yard respectively, five extra points, and added a 49 yard fumble return to get in on the defensive clinic the Colts were putting on. “Kadin got twisted up a little bit (on a personal foul facemask penalty) but he didn’t blink. He said alright coach lets go give me the ball. He is just a tough kid.”
Orville would go on to pile up dead ball penalties and turnovers to seem to shoot themselves in the foot. A number of late hits and extracurricular activities would get the Red Riders in trouble and keep the window open for the Colts to keep drives alive.
The first half was somewhat of a sluggish start for both teams. The halftime score was 14-7 in favor of the Colts.
Chrastina would add his only passing touchdown of the game connecting with Silas Finley on a 25-yard pass play. Back from injury, Finley would make the most of his return to the field. He tallied 61 yards rushing on 8 attempts with one touchdown and 82 yards receiving on 4 receptions with one receiving score. That was all the scoring that the Colts would need, as defense took over the other side of the board.
That did not stop the Colts from adding on three second half touchdowns for good measure. Chrastina accounted for all three scores, ending the night with 73 yards rushing on 25 attempts and two touchdowns. He also completed 8 passes on 17 attempts for 128 yards and one touchdown.
The Red Riders got a big night from Smith who completed 14 of 22 passes for 134 yards and one touchdown.
The Clear Fork defense would hold Orrville to just 8 yards rushing for the entire night on 25 attempts. Red Riders gained just 142 total yards of offense for the entire game. Their 107 in the first half was cut to 45 in the second thanks to a strong effort from the Colt’s defense.
Next week, the West Holmes Knights rolls into Colt Corral for OCC matchup loaded with playoff aspirations. The 6-3 Knights will try to push their playoff hopes ahead, while the 6-3 Colts will try surge past West Holmes for their own shot at the playoffs.
